The image depicted on Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards 44 The Broken Glass immediately elicits an “Oh, no!” reaction. The first thought that may pop into your mind is the seven years’ bad luck associated with the old superstition about breaking a mirror. This interpretation is certainly supported by the “fortune” that’s written on the card: “The broken glass foretells ill luck for long years if near; but if distant, death of a friend.”

Bummer…

But is Gypsy Witch 44 The Broken Glass really all that bad? And is it all that bad all of the time?

The first clue Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards 44 The Broken Glass isn’t always negative comes from its playing card inset, 8 of Diamonds, which speaks of balance. It is only when things get out of balance that one’s world-view becomes distorted, as the following illustration will show.

The second clue comes from the examination of the numerological vibration associated with this card, the 44/8 vibration, which is an exceptionally powerful one. 44 is a Master Number and the number 8 is associated with power, as well as balance.

The 44/8 vibration suggests (among other things):

(+) Perseverance through discipline… conforming to and making the best of the situation… resourcefulness… planning in advance… ability to employ common sense and logical thinking… overcoming obstacles through sustained effort

(-) Overly materialistic mindset… chasing fame and fortune to the detriment of one’s health, resulting in discontent and frustration

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With the above two clues in mind, let’s take a closer look at how Gypsy Witch 44 The Broken Glass might play out in a simple two-card spread:

Female X, a small business owner, has taken some steps to increase sales. She has generated some customer interest but so far it hasn’t translated into actual sales. She’s feeling a bit apprehensive and wants to know what she should focus on or consider.

I drew two Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards to illuminate her situation:

Q: What Should Female X Focus On (need to know)?

According to the “fortunes” written on the cards, Gypsy Witch 5 TREE symbolizes “good health” and “fulfillment of highest hopes” while 44 BROKEN GLASS“foretells ill luck for long years.”

So which is it? A thriving business (TREE) or “might as well close up shop today because it’s all going to hell in a hand-basket” (BROKEN GLASS) and there’s nothing she can do about it?

I decided to dig deeper, considering some of the standard meanings for the playing cards depicted on these cards:

3 of Clubs

3 of Clubs

Good luck

Fortunate circumstances

Opportunities for growth

Investing in the future

Situations that start small but have the capacity to grow and expand

Expanding one’s knowledge base by learning new things

Investing (in general)

A practical development

8 of Diamonds

8 of Diamonds

8 of Diamonds is a card of balance, or a struggle to find balance, in financial matters. The card can also show where additional money can be earned. Other interpretations include:

Being insightful

Looking into the future

Eyes, eyesight, wearing glasses

A person who is related to you

Keeping to a budget

Planning for the future

In the context of Female X’s question, if TREE equals “good luck” and BROKEN GLASS equals “bad luck” while 3 of Clubs equals “opportunities for growth, investing in the future, growing one’s business,” and 8 of Diamonds equals “being insightful, looking into and planning for the future,” what might we surmise?

You can’t see your reflection in a broken glass

Distortion of what-is

(A need to) Fix or replace the (broken) mirror

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The Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards seem to be advising Female X to take a closer look at what the circumstances (disappointing sales figures) are reflecting (BROKEN GLASS) back at her. She needs to re-examine her thoughts (Diamonds) about her goals and expectations (and deliberately choose to focus on the positive aspects of what she wishes to achieve) in order to thrive (TREE), attract good luck (3 of Clubs), and actually grow (TREE) her business.

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Note: Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Card 5 Tree is the only Gypsy Witch card that shares the same card number as a standard Lenormand card, although the playing card insets are different.

In essence, the Gypsy Witch cards seem to be pointing out that “good luck” (TREE) vs “bad luck” (BROKEN GLASS) is all in how one sees or perceives it. In other words, no matter what “reality” is showing you, it’s really “all in your head.” Your perception (8 of Diamonds) is your reality.

According to the Law of Attraction, the Universe simply delivers the physical counterparts of what we are thinking and feeling. (Thoughts are things.) In this light, the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards seem to be advising Female X that what is currently needed is not another promotional campaign. It’s not even necessarily a new idea. Female X first needs to re-examine the lens through which she is viewing her reality (BROKEN GLASS) so she can see clearly.

What is Female X really expecting to happen as far as her business is concerned? Does she “see” new customers pouring in the door or is she focusing on her wares gathering dust as they languish on the shelves? Awareness of what she is envisioning is critical because that’s what she will likely get. If her “vision” (8 of Diamonds) is out-of-skew/ distorted (BROKEN GLASS), she will need to adjust or balance (8 of Diamonds) her mindset/ expectations in a positive direction. Business growth (TREE, 3 of Clubs) will then follow, regardless of what particular promotion or idea she decides to implement.

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins

Notes:

Like many cartomancers, the meanings I’ve derived from the various playing cards come from a blending of various sources and my own intuitions and experience. I particularly recommend The Art of Cartomancy (Kapherus), Ask My Cards (Madame Seaqueen), Hedgewytchery (Dawn Jackson) and Regina Russell’s Card Reader’s Handbook. You’ll find links to these sites in my Blog Roll.

I’ve started posting brief card draws (1 to 3 cards) on Instagram, along with a thought or two on how I would interpret them. I’m using various decks — Lenormand, Tarot, Gypsy Witch, Oracle Cards — whatever strikes my fancy any particular morning. 🙂 Sometimes I throw in something astrological. Occasionally, you might catch a snapshot of one (or both) of the Rescue Kitties, the grandkids, or one of my Angel drawings. If you’d like to follow along, I’m @mary_hawk12.

If you’ve missed my previous posts on the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards, you can click on the links below or use the Gypsy Witch link under Categories in the side bar to your right.

If you own the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards deck or are thinking of purchasing it, there are a few things you might want to consider:

1. While the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards are not Tarot cards, you can use your favorite tarot layouts and spreads and get useful information.

2. Because all 52 playing cards are represented (along with 3 Jokers), you can substitute this deck for any normal playing cards deck and read it accordingly.

3. Since 35 of the 36 Lenormand card titles are included — and with a little creative license, you can substitute GWFTPC #43 Lightning for Lenormand 36 Cross — you can pull these 36 cards out of the deck and substitute them for a regular Lenormand deck. That is, as long as you don’t mind the fact that for the most part, the playing card insets for the GWFTPC are different from those on the Lenormand, as are the numbers assigned to each card. For example, the Lenormand Scythe features the Jack of Diamonds and is numbered as card 10 while the GWFTPC Scythe features the 10 of Diamonds and is numbered as card 8.

4. You can use the cards as an Oracle Deck since “fortunes” or “prophecies” are written on each of the cards.

5. If you’re up for the challenge and enjoy flexing your intuitive muscles, you can “mix things up” so to speak and read the cards on more than one level.

6. Be prepared to toss the LWB (Little White Book) that comes with the deck into a drawer. It is beyond useless…

By now you are probably getting the idea that the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards do not follow the rules, a fact that can make using them frustrating or perplexing to say the least. Despite this, the cards have a curious draw. They seem to possess a palpable soul that wants to engage with you. If you take the time to get to know them, you might be amazed at the depth of information they are willing to impart.

Several months after the situation that prompted the first reading, Male X (who wound up not pursuing educational courses that could have resulted in a career change) was once again feeling disenchanted with his job. Once again, he decided to apply for a similar position at yet another company for slightly more pay and assurances that he would not have to perform certain onerous tasks he was obligated to perform at his present job. Mrs. X told Mr. X that she just wanted him to be happy and if he wanted to take the new job that was fine with her. To her surprise, a week went by and Mr. X still hadn’t made up his mind, leaving her wondering what was really going on with him. Since Mrs. X contacted me at the exact same time the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards had nagged themselves back into my life, I decided to cast an Overview Spread using this deck for more insight.

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The Overview Spread consists of 7 cards laid out as follows:

The Overview Spread – card positions

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Here are the cards I pulled for Male X’s situation using the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards deck:

The Significator or Theme Card – Card 1: The Gentleman

Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards – 2 of Hearts

Notice the Significator or Theme Card is the 2 of Hearts, the card in the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards deck that is assigned to “the gentleman whose fortune is being told.” I did not preselect this card. The GWFTPC deck picked it for me. I took this as confirmation that the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards were indeed addressing Male X’s situation.

What Is Above You (On Your Mind) – Card 3: The Lion

Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards: 6 of Diamonds

Four of the seven cards in the spread were Diamonds, giving a sense of restless, scattered energy. Diamonds also refer to money. Diamonds in the Above position (Card 3) suggested that money was on Male X’s mind, and the 6 of Diamonds in particular suggested “not enough money.” The image on this card is The Lion and the “fortune” reads: The lion presages a sudden shock from bad news. I got the sense that Male X was worried that if he took this job, he’d come to realize the small gain in hourly wage would not offset the bonuses he now enjoyed with his current job.

The Recent Past – Cards 6 + 2: The Money Safe and the Scythe

Cards 6 + 2 in the Recent Past position showed a small amount (3 of Diamonds) vs a large amount (10 of Diamonds) of money. In the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards deck, the 3 of Diamonds is The Money Safe and the 10 of Diamonds is The Scythe. The “fortune” for The Money Safe reads: The money safe indicates riches; if shut side is toward the person, it denotes loss by speculation. The “fortune” for The Scythe reads: The scythe presages disappointment… Because The Money Safe‘s shut side was closest to the Gentleman (Card 1), I surmised that Mr. X feared “loss by speculation,” which seemed to be confirmed by The Scythe, which foreshadowed “disappointment.”

The Near Future – Cards 4 + 7: The Rapiers and The Broken Glass

These cards suggested that a decision (Ace of Spades) based on money (Diamonds) would come up in the near future. Ace of Spades is The Rapier in the Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards deck, warning of assaults which threaten and will occur sooner or later, according to the distance from the person. Since this card was immediately preceded by The Gentleman, I sensed the “assaults,” or decision, would come sooner rather than later. The 8 of Diamonds, known as The Broken Glass in this deck, foretells ill luck for long years if near… Together, these two cards suggested to me that Male X was very worried (Spades) he might make the wrong decision, thus his hesitation.

What is Below You (Fear, Dread or Avoid) – Card 5: The Clover Leaf

Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards: 5 of Clubs

When I looked at the Below position (Card 5) to see what Male X might have been avoiding, fearing or dreading, or simply not wanting to think about, I couldn’t help but think The Clover Leaf, bearer of good tidings, was the job offer itself! Because he was obviously worried about potentially making a bad decision / bad financial decision (Cards 3, 4 and 7), Male X was delaying (avoiding) responding to the job offer (Card 5).

Overall, I got the sense Male X was worried (Ace of Spades) that the small increase in pay (3 of Diamonds + 10 of Diamonds with 6 of Diamonds and 8 of Diamonds in the spread) would not justify (Ace of Spades) his acceptance of the job offer (5 of Clubs).

A few days after the reading, I found out that Male X had decided not to take the new job.

Maybe, like me, you’ve had years where you’ve made New Year’s resolutions and years where you haven’t made any at all. This year, while I briefly entertained the thought of using my Lenormand cards to help me make goals, I’d pretty much decided to skip the process when a trip to a local bookstore yesterday set me on my ear.

While browsing through the New Age section, a book I’d noticed before and had wanted to buy but didn’t popped into my line of vision.

Channeled (I suppose) by Alexandra Solnado, The Book of Light contains messages from Jesus that uncannily address any question, concern, situation, circumstance or request for guidance you can imagine. Before you click off this post because you don’t believe in Jesus, hear me out.

Regardless of your religious affiliation or lack thereof, there is no doubt that Jesus is one of the heavy hitters on the religious / spiritual circuit. If you were brought up Catholic (like me) or in a Christian faith of any denomination, the concept of Jesus is hard-wired into your conscious and subconscious mind. Even if you no longer practice. Even if you’ve become a Wiccan or a Buddhist or an agnostic or atheist. Even if you’ve converted to Judaism, Islam, Native American spirituality, Mormonism, Scientology or who-knows-what-and-who-cares-why. And why wouldn’t wisdom from Jesus be any less appropriate or useful than wisdom from any other source?

Back to the bookstore experience: so there I am, scanning the titles in the New Age section, when The Book of Light pops into view. Okay, I silently tell the book. If you give me a good enough reason to buy you, I will. Then I picked the book up and ran my thumb against its pages until it felt right to open it up to a selection.

Here is an excerpt from the page that was presented to me:

ATTRACTION. You are entirely responsible for everything that you attract. You attract everything that happens to you.

That was all I needed to read to make my decision to buy the book. I had attracted this book to myself for a reason and I’ve learned enough on my long and winding journey through this 3-dimensional experience we call life to know this particular book held value for me. Certainly as much value as my Tarot cards or Lenormand cards or Playing cards or Oracle cards. Another tool for my toolbox, so to speak.

After reading the “instructions” upon arriving back home, I found myself mindfully focused on receiving guidance to help me fulfill and achieve heartfelt needs and desires for the upcoming year — so much for skipping the resolution process — and was “told” three things:

1. Reinvent yourself.

2. Live in the Present.

3. Express Gratitude.

While I could understand and relate to living in the present and expressing gratitude, the concept of reinventing myself seemed a little out of reach and curiously un-understandable. How am I supposed to do that, I wondered.

So, being the card reader that I am, I decided to ask the Lenormand cards to clarify the messages that I had received from The Book of Light. Here’s what I got:

Q: Some insight, please, on reinventing myself: what does it mean, how do I start, etc.?

Clouds show confusion, Key is an answer or solution and Stars bring clarity or vision. Garden can show “many” or “multiples” referring to the card to its left and Storks bring improvements and positive changes. Tower, according to Andy Boroveshengra, can refer to longevity, old age or long term plans.

The Lenormand cards suggested that although the concept of reinventing myself is now confusing, I will succeed in gaining clarity (Clouds + Key + Stars). Many directions (Stars + Garden) resulting in positive growth or changes and improved circumstances (Storks) are available to me. Tower, symbolizing my retirement years and long term plans, is quite appropriate as a “theme” or general focus of the reading.

As I often do, I further examined the spread for an additional message by consulting the playing card insets on the selected Lenormand cards. I do this by turning a Line of 5 Lenormand spread with Base Card (six cards total) into a Playing card Answer Spread:

The Playing cards show that investigating the process (King of Clubs + 8 of Spades) will be rewarded, allowing me to create and attract the desirable future I wish for myself (8 of Diamonds + Queen of Hearts), as long as I “stay on the right path” and not let myself be distracted or thrown off course (6 of Hearts + 6 of Spades). According to Kapherus, 8 of Diamonds can refer to vision, both literally and seeing into the future. This gave me the impression that visualization practices (including art journaling) might prove beneficial as I proceed with the 2015 challenge of “reinventing” myself. Serendipitously, I had also purchased a lovely 2015 weekly planner yesterday (at clearance pricing, 75% off!!) and have already embarked upon what I expect to be a year-long experiment in self-growth and personal and artistic development.

At the risk of overusing the word “serendipitous,” it certainly felt like a happy coincidence that I got the idea to combine messages from The Book of Light with messages from the Lenormand cards. And with that in mind, I wish you all many magical and serendipitous moments and a rewarding 2015 filled with happiness, success, health, prosperity and blessings galore. 🙂

Do I have to tell you how long it took me to grab it off the shelf and toss it in my shopping cart?!

Yep. About two & a half seconds.

Despite a busy day, I just had to give these cards a try. I decided to throw an Answer Spread*, which can give a quick yes or no answer to a simple question. I was most curious to learn how these cards would respond to my energies.

Background

My son is away at graduate school in a different state. A couple weeks ago he mentioned the possibility of coming home for a visit later this month. I’ve been trying not to think about it because I don’t want to stoke my expectations and then be disappointed.

But with this brand new (not to mention very cool) card deck sitting on my kitchen table, I couldn’t help myself. I just had to ask!

The Question

“Will my son come home for a visit by or before the end of October?”

The Answer

7 of Diamonds – 10 of Diamonds – 6 of Diamonds – 6 of Hearts – King of Hearts – 8 of Diamonds

The first thing I note is all the cards are red. This in itself is an excellent indication of a “yes” answer.

I also note there are two sixes in the spread which can indicate that all works out in a satisfactory manner. This is another indication of a “yes” answer.

Out of six cards, four are diamonds. This suggests money is a major factor in whether or not the trip back home will take place, information that certainly resonates with me, since my son’s funds are limited. In fact, the pivot card (8 of Diamonds) is a card of budgeting and in that position shows finances are a key factor in his decision.

Column #1 – Recent Past or Current Situation

7 of Diamonds – 6 of Hearts

The Answer Spread is read in columns. The left-most column shows the recent past or current situation. Here we have the 7 of Diamonds topped by the 6 of Hearts.

The 6 of Hearts, a young male who is much loved, refers to my son. I see he has the 7 of Diamonds, a lucky money card above him, which makes me think this column shows his hopes or thoughts that he’ll have the money to make this trip.

Column #2 -The Answer

10 of Diamonds – King of Hearts

The 10 of Diamonds, among other things, symbolizes a trip by air or an airplane. In general, Diamonds topped by Hearts suggests a happy conclusion. I am not sure why the King of Hearts in particular showed up in this spot. I don’t think it refers to my son (he would be the Jack of Hearts). Perhaps some kindly man who has my son’s best interests at heart will be instrumental in seeing that he gets an airplane ticket home.

Column #3 – Additional Information

6 of Diamonds – 8 of Diamonds

6 of Diamonds + 8 of Diamonds suggests to me that my son will not be talking about any budgeting or financial difficulties he may have. No matter how much he’d like to make this trip, he’s not going to ask his mother for money. The cards in this column hint that if I really want to see him, perhaps I should consider sending some money to fund the cause.

Conclusion

The cards certainly seem to give a positive answer. Obviously, I won’t know for sure if this trip is a go until later in the month, and I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to send a little cash his way to hedge my bets.

On another note, I really enjoyed working with the Bicycle Club Tattoo playing card deck and plan to use it again. If you see this deck in your travels, scoop it up! If you can’t find it, you can order it at the link below.

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins

*I learned the Answer Spread from The Art of Cartomancy blog by Kapherus. Sadly, this excellent site that teaches how to read playing cards is no longer available to the public. If I hear any news about Kapherus rejoining the internet community, I’ll let you know.

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